Prabhakar Raghavan announced new CT for Google

This leadership reshuffle is part of Google's efforts to streamline operations, accelerate its AI developments, and maintain its competitive edge against rivals like Microsoft and OpenAI.

Google has made significant leadership changes recently, as Prabhakar Raghavan, who previously headed the search and ads teams, has been promoted to Chief Technologist. In his new role, Raghavan will focus on shaping the company's technical strategy and innovation, especially as competition in artificial intelligence (AI) intensifies.

Meanwhile, Nick Fox has taken over Raghavan’s former responsibilities, overseeing Google’s Search, Ads, and Commerce divisions. These changes are part of Google's broader restructuring efforts to streamline its operations, including integrating the team behind the Gemini app into DeepMind, further emphasizing their focus on generative AI.

Recently, Sundar Pichai, CEO in a blog post revealed the leadership transition, saying Raghavan will be working closely with him in this new position.

For Google, this change in leadership is crucial as the business is under more and more examination in the U.S. and the European Union. Antitrust actions in many countries claim that Google's operational independence and business strategy are seriously challenged by unfair activities in which it participates in web search and online advertising marketplaces.

Before joining Google, Raghavan managed the design of ad markets and search and ad ranking at Yahoo! Labs.